Mass Effect 3

[Jeff O'Connor]

If any of you cool cats are as into the series' music as I am, you'll be just as happy to know that BioWare has decided to release the seven-track Extended Cut OST for free download from their site. You need either an Origin (ew) or a BioWare Social Network (not so ew) account in order to download, though, I believe. I have a BSN account, so it was easy-peasy. It's just a forum account, don't worry.

http://social.bioware.com/me3ecsoundtrack.php

[Jeff O'Connor]

Ah, and it was only then that I realized I was beaten to the punch. Oh well.

[ATimson]

Jeff O'Connor wrote:

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You need either an Origin (ew) or a BioWare Social Network (not so ew) account in order to download, though, I believe.

Those are actually one-and-the-same now.

[Skywalker]

If it makes you feel any better, Jeff (good to see you again, by the way!), I saw your post before I saw Reverend's edit. So, thanks!

[Jeff O'Connor]

Ah, so they are, ATimson, so they are. Good to know, I suppose. I still play Mass Effect on 360, but I'm switching over to PC sometime soon now that I have one capable of playing things more graphically complex than Final Fantasy VII.

And cool, Skywalker... and thanks!

[Skywalker]

So I'm listening to the soundtrack, and I think it's a lot better than I originally gave it credit for. I still wish Jack Wall had stuck around for ME3 (does anyone know what exactly happened there?), but Sam Hulick and company still did a good job.

I think it's pretty lame that they made a big deal about Clint Mansell coming on to do the music, but then he only ended up being responsible for two tracks (Leaving Earth and An End, Once and For All).

[ATimson]

Skywalker wrote:

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So I'm listening to the soundtrack, and I think it's a lot better than I originally gave it credit for. I still wish Jack Wall had stuck around for ME3 (does anyone know what exactly happened there?), but Sam Hulick and company still did a good job.

With Clint Mansell's contribution being announced in February 2011, and the other composers not starting work until October 2011, it really looks to me like the change to Clint was entirely Bioware's choice, and then the other composers picked up the slack last-minute when he fell through.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Yeah, that really wouldn't surprise me. I do miss Jack Wall, absolutely, but I've realized that overall I always kinda preferred Sam Hulick, and I feel as though much of Sam's finest work in the trilogy has come from ME3.

[TheGodBen]

ATimson wrote:

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With Clint Mansell's contribution being announced in February 2011, and the other composers not starting work until October 2011, it really looks to me like the change to Clint was entirely Bioware's choice, and then the other composers picked up the slack last-minute when he fell through.

I'm not sure if we can read too much into that, the scores to ME1 and ME2 were both the work of multiple composers, it's more than possible that Bioware always intended to get multiple composers involved in ME3 and that Clint Mansell was only hired for the main theme. Bioware got what they wanted out of the deal, Clint's name in big letters on the cover of the soundtrack, while most of the work was done by composers that worked for less money. It's win-win for them.

One thing I really appreciated about the extended cut soundtrack is that it ended with a reprise of the main theme, just like the endings of ME1 and ME2. An End Once And For All was a beautiful piece of music (except the final few seconds of the original version), but it only served as a callback to Leaving Earth. The new final track works better as the ending-point for the whole series.

[Jeff O'Connor]

I get mad Serenity vibes from the tail end of that track. And in all the right ways. Right now, it's probably my favorite piece in the trilogy. Augh, augh, I love it.

[Hartzilla2007]

Reverend wrote:

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Almost forgot. If anyone's interested, you can download the EC soundtrack for free here, straight from Bioware.

I will make sure to add these to my Ipod with the rest of the ost.

[TheGodBen]

Jeff O'Connor wrote:

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I get mad Serenity vibes from the tail end of that track. And in all the right ways. Right now, it's probably my favorite piece in the trilogy. Augh, augh, I love it.

It's a beautiful track, but my favourite still has to be Suicide Mission. Combining the Mass Effect theme with The Illusive Man track (itself, an amazingly unsettling piece of music), infusing it with all the hopes, fears, and adrenaline that go along with that mission, and then Jack Wall turned the whole thing up to 11.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Suicide Mission is a very worthy contender, and perpetually in my top five. You totally nailed it, the rush of emotion really sells the fusion between two terrific pieces.

[Evil Twin]

Jeff O'Connor wrote:

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I get mad Serenity vibes from the tail end of that track. And in all the right ways. Right now, it's probably my favorite piece in the trilogy. Augh, augh, I love it.

I was thinking it reminded me of the end of Serenity while I was listening to the track last night also.

[ATimson]

TheGodBen wrote:

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I'm not sure if we can read too much into that, the scores to ME1 and ME2 were both the work of multiple composers, it's more than possible that Bioware always intended to get multiple composers involved in ME3 and that Clint Mansell was only hired for the main theme.

In the case of the earlier games my understanding was that Bioware hired Jack Wall and he reached out and selected the others to help, not that Bioware hired a team and expected them to magically gel.

TheGodBen wrote:

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It's win-win for them.

Unless they scared off other composers with their midseries hijinks. Win-win for this product, maybe, but I doubt it was for the company as a whole.